Coiled streamer and projecting means therefor



July 31, 1956 J RESCH, JR 2,756,737

COILED STREAMER AND PROJECTING MEANS THEREFOR Filed May 21, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR J'OSe a/I E Ra a/2, J1?

BY M4! @Mfl W ATTORNEY July 31, 1956 J. B. RESCH, JR 2,756,737

COILEID STREAMER AND PROJECTING MEANS THEREFOR Filed May 21. 195:5

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W ATTORNEY COILED STREAMER AND PROJECTING MEANS THEREFOR Joseph B. Resch, Jr., East Greenwich, R. I.

Application May 21, 1953, Serial No. 356,354

2 Claims. (Cl. 124-11) My invention relates to a toy for projecting streamers by fluid means.

More specifically, this invention relates to a toy which may used by children as a ray gun and also an implement which may be used by decorators to create shimmering effects.

For purposes of brevity, the invention will be described and shown as used in the artistic field, more specifically the Christmas tree decoration field.

My invention comprises a cartridge of coiled material which is projected in streamer form from the inside peripheral surface thereof by means of a fluid stream directed through the cartridge. Preferably, the fluid stream will be gaseous; however, liquid may also be used to advantage in such combinations as a streamer-type water pistol.

Various other objects and meritorious features of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the use of a cartridge equipped with a mouthpiece projector in decorating a Christmas tree;

Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section showing a pistoltype projector employing a bottle of fluid under pressure;

Fig. 3 shows a modification employing a hand pump projector;

Fig. 4 shows a side view partly in section of a cartridge with a mouthpiece projector;

Pig. 5 is an end view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side view in section showing a cartridge wound on a removable core; and

Fig. 7 is a side view in section showing a tubular projector equipped with a bottle of fluid under pressure and a cartridge of three annularly wound coils.

As seen in Fig. l, a serpentine streamer 15 may be projected a considerable distance and easily directed over a desired subject such the Christmas tree 16 by merely blowing into a device made in accordance with my invention. Tests have shown that the streamer may be directed at an object many feet distant, and while a small table model Christmas tree has been shown, it will be appreciated that a tree 8 to feet high may also be so decorated.

In Fig. 4 is shown a cartridge or coil 17 of ribbon which has a plastic outer covering 19 and a mouthpiece 20, the mouthpiece having a Venturi section 21 which provides a small orifice 22 through which a small diameter high velocity jet of air issues. This fluid stream travels centrally through the coil, and as seen in Fig. 5, impinges upon the flat surface 23 of a previously uncoiled portion of the ribbon.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modification which is suitable as a toy gun for childeren as well as a decorating instrument. A cartridge or coil 17 is frictionally inserted into the muzzle 24 of the gun, and a bottle 25 of fluid under pressure is placed in the breech 26 through a suitable threaded opening closed by a breech cap 27. A suitable trigger mechanism 28 is provided for opening the spring-biased valve 29 on the bottle 25, the jet coming nited States Patent 0 from the bottle being directed centrally through the cartridge to project streamers in a manner similar to the previously described mouthpiece projector. The neck of the bottle abuts a suitable annular ridge 30 to properly position the valve mechanism 29 and thereby insuring the accurate aiming of the jet of fluid. Also it will be noted that the muzzle has a shoulder 31 which properly locates the front edge 32 of the cartridge at the muzzle opening.

In Fig. 3 two cartridges 33 and 34 are frictionally disposed within a cylinder 35 having an annular shoulder 36 which properly positions the front edge of cartridge 33 at the cylinder opening. A cap 37 with an air entry hole 38 is threaded over one end of the cylinder. Passing through the cap 37 is a piston rod 39 which has a resilient piston 40 affixed to one end and a handle 41 afiixed to its other end. The resilient piston 40 is of the type which allows the passage of air past its peripheral edge upon the withdrawal of the piston rod from the cylinder. A check valved supply chamber may be positioned upstream of the Venturi section 42 to enable delivery of a continuous stream of air. The Venturi section 42 is mounted in the cylinder 35 to form a jet of air at the longitudinal central axis of the cartridges.

-In Fig. 7 is shown a tubular projector 43 equipped with a gasbottle 44 and a trigger button 45, the gas bottle abutting an annular shoulder 46 and being held in place by a threaded cap 47. Three serpentine coils 48, 49 and 50 are mounted at the breech end 51 of the projector, the innermost coil 50 abutting a shoulder 52.

The cartridge is produced by winding a continuous length of suitable material on a core which is designed for easy removal after the winding operation. I have found that a core 53 which has been longitudinally split, as shown in Fig. 6, provides a simple and eflicient means for accomplishing this operation. After winding, the outside bitter end of the wound material may be joined to the outer peripheral surface of the coil by suitable adhesive material to prevent uncoiling. The entire outer peripheral surface of the coil may be covered with an adhesive substance which impregnates the coil to a depth of 6 to 10 layers which on solidification form an integral outer layer. In Fig. 6 I have shown a plastic covering 54 which may be wrapped around the coil and sealed. This cartridge may then be easily inserted into any one of the projecting mechanisms previously described. A mouthpiece may be integrally formed with the coil wrapping to produce a finished and usable article of the type shown in Fig. 4. This assembly may then, if desired, be used as a cartridge for various other projecting devices, the desired Venturi being supplied by the mouthpiece.

Many types of material may be employed in the instant invention. For the decoration of Christmas trees, I have found that an aluminum ribbon having a thickness of about 0.005 of an inch and a width of about ,4 to /8 of an inch or more is satisfactory. Experiments have shown that a maximum projection of a ribbon falling within these dimensions is obtained by positioning the jet orifice a predetermined distance rearwardly of the rear end of the cartridge. The distances, which vary with material used and pressures employed, fall within the range of A of an inch to 3 inches.

The ribbon may also be made of cellophane, plastic films, paper, cloth, laminated materials, and the like, and have sides of different colors. It will be noted in Fig. 3 that two helically wound coils of ribbon are mounted in the projector, and upon ejection, two sinusodial streamers are formed.

Most materials take on a set or fix after coiling, which upon ejection by an air stream, produces the sinusoidal streamers shown in the drawing. An especially good effect is produced by the aluminum ribbon.

The cartridge assembly shown in Fig. 7 is made up of three annularly coiled ribbons. The three coils are ejected at the same time providing a stream of three individual ribbons.

The various color arrangements and single or multiple streamer arrangements that may be created by the instant invention are unlimited. Also it is possible to join a plurality of cartridges in tandem to allow the successive projection of a streamer from one cartridge after another by joining the outside bitter end of one to the inside bitter end of another. When employing this tandem connection, a suitable adjusting arrangement for positioning the jet orifice at its optimum position would be beneficial if maximum projection is desired.

The word coil is used in this application in its broadest sense and is intended to cover any and all types of windings of elongated material, wherein the said material is wound about an axis, irrespective of the geometrical shape (as cylindrical, spherical, etc.) and irrespective of the type of winding (as level layer wound, honeycomb, universal wind common in textile industry, etc.) and irrespective of the pitch at which the turns are wound. It is well known in the winding art that in certain types of windings, each course or layer serves to bind its neighbor together, so that the coil is self supporting thereby enabling the production of a coreles's coil of even the most difiicult materials. Through such windings coils of considerable length can be made without sacrific ing its power of self-support or the power of resisting the tendency to elongate in handling or unwinding from the center by a pull in the direction of its length.

I claim:

1. A cartridge for a toy projector which is adapted to project streamers from the cartridge by a fluid stream therethrough comprising a coil of streamer material consisting of a light foil-like ribbon of small transverse dimension, one end of said coil having an opening for receiving a small diameter jet of fluid for passage centrally through the coil, the other end of said coil being open to allow high speed paying-out of the streamer material in streamer form from the inner surface of the coil, and means for preventing unwinding of the coil from its outer surface.

2. A toy for projecting streamers comprising a coil of streamer material consisting of a light foil-like ribbon of small transverse dimension, one end of said coil having an opening for receiving a small diameter jet of fluid for passage centrally through the coil, the other end of said coil being open to allow high-speed paying-out of the streamer material in streamer form from the inner surface of the coil, and means for preventing unwinding of the coil from its outer surface; and controllable means having a jet orifice for providing a small diameter jet of fluid at said one end of said coil and for directing said jet of fluid in a path centrally through the coil, said jet orifice being positioned a predetermined distance downstream from said one end of said coil to facilitate projection of said streamer material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,491,809 Macchia Apr. 29, 1924 2,375,314 Mills May 8, 1945 2,577,214 Slayter Dec. 4, 1951 2,660,993 Blakeslee Dec. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,641 Great Britain 1895 341,784 Great Britain Ian. 22, 1931 648,170 Great Britain Dec. 28, 1950 825,519 Germany Dec. 20, 1951 

